For March 8, 2022 – Builders Men’s Ministry – Preparation
What or who is pushing our buttons –
motivating, inspiring, urging us on?
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Passage for Study and Discussion: Tuesday, March 8 – Builders Men’s Ministry
1 Peter 1:17-21 New International Version
17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors,19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
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Table Talk Time Questions for Builder Men’s Ministry – March 8
1. Lean In: Do you see men in our day as anxious, fearful, or insecure? If you do, what seem to be some of the reasons they are or at least might be? How much does fear of death impact a man’s emotions or choices?
2. Look Down: In the 1 Peter 1:17-21 passage of focus for tonight, what kind of fear is Peter telling us to have? How does this kind of fear differ from absolute terror or being scared to death? What is the “empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors”? What does His being the ultimate judge of our words and actions have to do with our attitude toward God? Does the fact that we will be accountable to God for our words and actions contribute to our understanding of the fear of the Lord? Knowing God sacrificed His only Son for us has to be a part of why we stand in awe and love Him. Yes?
3. Look Out: How do you see men in our culture expressing fear or insecurity? How are they attempting to deal with fear, anxiety, or insecurity? Could this have something to do with the “empty way of life” handed down from our ancestors? How effective are some of those methods men are choosing? Who have you seen find better, more effective ways to face their fears and conquer them? How does insecurity in a man impact his wife or children? Do men you know fear death or eternity?
4. Look In: Has fear, anxiety, or insecurity ever been a problem for you or those men close to you? Have you had to deal with any of the “empty ways of life” handed down to you from your ancestors? On the other hand, what great things have they handed down to you? How did you find your way during those times of high stress/anxiety/fear? How did you get set free? What could 1 John 4:18-19 have to do with overcoming fear in life? Have you ever lived in the fear of death? How did it reveal itself in you or did it?
5. Take It Outside: What could we possibly do to help men and boys grow to a place where the fear that motivates them is the pure fear of the Lord – based on His power and His love for them? Does being personally secure in Christ help? Might being ready to DO I Peter 3:15 help us lead others? What scriptures, teachers, preachers, music, movies, poems, podcasts, writers, books, or other media has helped you become more secure in Christ and stabilized your thinking and emotions?
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1 Peter 1:1-16 – passages we have already studied at Builders Men’s Ministry
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Praise to God for a Living Hope
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hopethrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
Be Holy
13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”[a]